Let me burn out for Thee, dear Lord

dhorbert · Post by **dhorbert** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 6:49 pm

I am looking for the words to this hymn. I don't do many words, but I know the first verse starts: Oh God, the world is lost in sin and so few who seem to care... If anyone can get the words to all the verses I would so appreciate it!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:40 am

O God, the world is lost in sin,
And so few who seem to care!
Many of whom profess Thy name,
No burden will help to bear.
Give me a passion Lord, for Souls
To bring the lost ones to Thee;
Our hearts must be stirred,
till all have heard
of Jesus of Calvary

Chorus
Let me burn out for Thee dear Lord
Burn and wear out for Thee.
Don't let me rust, or my life be
A failure, my God, to Thee.
Use me and all I have, dear Lord,
And draw me so close to Thee
That I feel the throb
Of the great heart of God,
O let me burn out for Thee.

That's all I know.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:46 am

I was raised in the Free Methodist denomination in my youth, and remember with such fondness that at the age of around 17 or so a friend and I drove from Maryland to the Winona World Youth Advance in Winona Lake, Indiana (not far from Warsaw as I remember), back when the HUGE Billy Sunday Tabernacle was there and Winona Lake was headquarters for the Free Methodist Church of North America and in its heyday.back in the 1960's.

I will never forget that there together, we truly "met at the crossroads of Life, another thought which I pray will always remain with me.
.
That plaintive and melodic song was the theme song there that year when I felt that God really had some kind of purpose for my life and that I should commit to take his name upon me and somehow "burn out for him." Without the Creator, His creation is meaningless

Thou has made us for thyself, oh Lord, and our hearts are ever restless until they find their rest in Thee- (Saint Augustin of Hippo)

I'm wondering if I was one of the few whose entire life has been a reflection on the meaning of that song it made such an impression on me, or that I am one "of the least" of his adopted children, that I've haplessly "rusted," or my life has ended up being a "failure my God to thee" Plaintive, and indeed haunting are those words and I pray they will always be with me.

Sincerely,
Forest Grauel
http://www.LifePrinciplesTrust.org and
http://www.SermonsOnLoanFromGod.org
Burtonsville, MD and
Falling Waters, West Virginia

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:15 pm

The lines of this poem have also been something that lingers and challenges me since my youth and like Forest Grauel, I too can say my heart knows how much I have fallen short of my aspirations but as Browning put it: "A man's reach should exceed his grasp or what is a Heaven for." I believe it is God's intention to place before us such unlimited possibilities that we are forever reaching forward dependent on His loving mercy Who hopes all things!!!
Bessie F. Hatcher caught the need of the hour and the prayer that should be prayed by
many in these days when she wrote:
LET ME BURN OUT FOR THEE
Oh God, the world is lost in sin, And so few that seem to care!
Many of whom profess Thy name no burden will help to bear.
We need a passion, Lord, for souls, to bring the lost back to Thee;
Our hearts must be stirred, till all have heard at least once of Calvary.
How cold has been our giving, Lord! How selfish our love has been,
Keeping from those who never heard the gospel that saves from sin!
How often we have turned aside, Neglecting to do our part,
Forgetting Thy tears and agony, Forgetting Thy bleeding heart!
Meet us and break us up, dear Lord, Until driven to our knees.
Bare to our gaze Thy cross and love, Of blood-baptized Calvary.
Speak till we hear again Thy call, And hold nothing back from Thee.
Oh, burn on our hearts the hopeless wail of souls damned eternally.
O God, with shame I humbly bow, In tears and with contrite heart.
Forgive me for the broken vows, And failure to do may part.
I heed Thy call and say, "Fare-well," To all that would hinder me;
Thy grace and Thy love to lost ones, tell, And my life burn out for Thee.
Chorus:
Let me burn out for Thee, dear Lord, Burn and wear out for Thee.
Don't let me rust, or my life be a failure, my God to Thee.
Use me and all I have, dear Lord, And get me so close to Thee
That I feel the throb of the great heart of God,
Until I burn out for Thee.

R. Barry Tait
[email protected]

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 5:31 am

I am Pastor Leones Carino, a Baptist preacher in the philippines. Can anybody please send me a copy of this song's accompaniment sheet, please. We are planning to sing it in our church anniversary.

Thank you very much., my email is [email][email protected].[/email]

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:23 am

God needs you to kill yourself? What a horrible, horrible song!
Read Psalm 23 and tell me that this song isn't the exact opposite of what David and the other Psalmists saw of our hope in God.
Jesus withdrew for times of rest, prayer and rejuvenation so what makes us better than the Son of God?

steveliu · Post by **steveliu** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:11 am

I usually don't get into hymn commentary, but I thought I'd jump in here.

I believe that this song was written long before the term "burn out" had taken on its current connotation. Think of it not so much in the current context but like a candle that's burning and shining its light as brightly as possible. Someone who at the end of the journey is leaving nothing on the table.

My guess is that the lyrics aren't talking so much about working so hard that you don't give yourself time to rest or reflect (which too many Christians too often do).

Rather, I'd guess that the hymn is more reflective of these verses in the Bible:

- Romans 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

- 1 Corinthians 9:27 - No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

- Luke 10:27 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind

- James 2:20 - Faith without works is dead

- Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

In other words, I see the hymn as coming not so much from someone who's already working for the Lord, but more so from someone whose faith has been dead, who perhaps has made promises in the past he or she has never fulfilled, who may have had a simplistic view of what it means to follow Christ before, but who now has a newfound zeal to turn his or her live over to God and to give of his or her best moving forward.

Thanks,
Steve

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 9:58 pm

steve Liu and R. Barry Tait,
I hadn't visited this thread for some time and wanted to thank both of you for the accurate synopses you both gave for the hymn, "Let Me Burn Out for Thee." From first hearing it as the theme song back in the early 1960's for the Winona World Youth Advance (a then-convocation of Free Methodist Youth from around the world), the piece has indeed followed me. I may even record it
soon as part of some songs I've sung throughout my life and which I hope to leave behind for our daughter and two grand kids to reflect upon when I'm no longer here. I don't know that it's available in recorded form anywhere.

Sincerely,
Forest Grauel
http://www.LifePrinciplesTrust.org and
http://www.SermonsOnLoanFromGod.org
Burtonsville, MD and
Falling Waters, West Virginia

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jan 24, 2024 10:27 pm

I am not a pastor or some great person, just a person that God has blessed with the gift of music. I was also brought up Free Methodist and hold many amazing memories from the music I learned before I became deaf. Yes I was music director etc. and lost my hearing to the point that I no longer can sing, but still know when I am or someone else is off key. I could not tell you if it is flat or sharp, all I know is that it's not there. So what do I do? SINGING IN MY SOUL AS i ALWAYS HAVE. I don't know why God chose to take my hearing away, but I know that He left His music engraved in my heart, and He wakes me up every morning with a song in my heart and mind, which I keep all day long. I still play the piano even though I really can't tell what the melody truly sounds like, but i know that He has never forsaken me. why I decided to write this just in case there's someone struggling with some handy cap and have stopped doing and being what God created you to be. DON'T THINK TWICE, GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING.
He will use your heart to burst out what He has put in it. all we can do is pray for each other, and have faith in our creator. God bless you.
Sam Brito

songinmyheart · Post by **songinmyheart** » Thu Jan 25, 2024 1:12 am

Thank you Sam,

Thank you for your testimony to the glory of God and His perfect plan for us.
I feel blessed beyond words that I too have a song flowing from my heart each morning.

Nancy